1. Create Your Group (about 5 min)

• Sign in to your trial account and click ➕ New Group.
• Give the Group a recognizable name and, if you like, upload a logo.
• Confirm the default Channel that GroupNews creates for you (e.g., “Company News”). You can add more channels later.

2. Invite People and Assign Roles (about 3 min)

• Open Group Settings → Members → Invite.
• Enter email addresses individually or paste in a list.
• Decide whether each invitee should be:
  • Member – can read and comment.
  • Author – can publish Stories, Events, and Deadlines in selected channels.
  • Administrator – can manage channels, members, and most settings.
• Tip: Start with a pilot group (leadership plus one team) to gather quick feedback before expanding.

3. Add or Organize Channels (about 2 min)

• In the sidebar, click Create Channel.
• Choose who can see the channel: Group-wide, Private, or Public.
• Decide whether to enable Open Authoring (any channel member can post) or keep publishing rights limited to selected Authors.
• Repeat as needed for departments, committees, projects—whatever makes sense for your organization.

4. Publish Your First Post (about 3 min)

• Click Post Something New or the ＋ button.
• Select Story, Event, or Deadline.
• Add a clear title, body content, and an optional feature image.
• In Options, you can:
  • Write a short excerpt for the news feed.
  • Hide or show the author byline.
  • Request acknowledgments if the update is must-read.
  • Attach supporting files.
• Click Publish to send it live (or Submit if your Group uses a publishing schedule).
• A great first post is a brief Story announcing that your organization is now using GroupNews and explaining how members can get started.

5. Drive Early Engagement (about 2 min)

• Encourage teammates to like, comment, and @mention colleagues on your first posts—this demonstrates how interactive discussions work.
• Remind everyone that Friday’s automatic weekly digest will summarize new content from any channels they belong to.